I walked into the conference with pretty remedial knowledge on why people are so concerned and passionate about the world’s shark species. Yes, I knew about the problems with “finning,” or killing sharks by cutting off their fins for soup.

But I didn’t have a context for why overfishing sharks would be any different than other types of overfishing. I also wasn’t sure whether this was something that affected sharks off Canada’s Pacific coast, or if it was only a problem other places.

It turns out, yes, overfishing sharks is different, and yes, the fin trade around the world affects endangered sharks here. I connect the dots with the help of patient scientists, to tell a tale about endangered basking sharks.